Could the Smoking Ban in the UK Force Bingo Enthusiasts Online?
Friday, 3. May 2024
An abundance has been reported in the papers not long ago regarding the bingo industry struggling as a result of the smoking ban in England. Conditions have become so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded huge tax breaks to assist in keeping the businesses from going bankrupt. But does the web version of this traditional game provide a reprieve, or might it not compare to its land based relative?
Bingo has been an familiar game generally enjoyed by the "blue rinse" generation. In any case the game recently had undergone a recent comeback in appeal with younger members of society opting to hit the bingo halls instead of the discos on a weekend. This is all about to change with the enacting of the smoking ban throughout United Kingdom.
Players will no longer be allowed to puff on cigarettes at the same time marking off their numbers. From the summer of 2007 every public place will not be allowed to permit smoking in their venues and this includes Bingo halls, one of the most popular areas where many people like to smoke.
The results of the cigarette ban can already be looked at in Scotland where cigarettes are already illegal in the bingo halls. Profits have dropped and the business is absolutely fighting for to stay alive. But where did the players go? Certainly they have not forgotten this familiar game?
The answer is on the net. Gamblers know that they can wager on bingo using their computer whilst enjoying a beer and smoke and still have a chance at massive jackpots. This is a recent phenomenon and has timed itself almost perfectly with the anti smoking law.
Of course playing online will never replace the collective part of heading down to the bingo parlor, but for a group of people the rules have left a number of bingo players with little option.
Posted in Bingo by Taryn